Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Low sodium and high potassium in dogs with chylothorax during chest
By Willard, M D et al.Ā·Published in Journal of the American Veterinary Medical AssociationĀ·1991Ā·Department of Small Animal Medicine and Surgery, United StatesĀ·View original on PubMed ā
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Original publication title: Hyponatremia and hyperkalemia associated with idiopathic or experimentally induced chylothorax in four dogs.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
Four dogs with chylothorax, a condition where lymph fluid accumulates in the chest, were treated with intermittent drainage to relieve their symptoms. During the treatment, three of the dogs developed low sodium levels (hyponatremia) and high potassium levels (hyperkalemia), which can be dangerous. One dog became weak and depressed due to high potassium levels, while another dog eventually recovered after the drainage stopped. Unfortunately, the other three dogs either died or were euthanized, and the exact effects of stopping the drainage couldn't be determined.
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Abstract
Two dogs with idiopathic chylothorax and 2 dogs with experimentally induced (ie, ligation of the cranial vena cava) chylothorax were treated by intermittent thoracic drainage. Of these 4 dogs, 3 that did not have evidence of renal failure had normal or near-normal serum sodium and potassium concentrations before thoracic drainage began, and all 3 developed repeatedly marked hyponatremia and hyperkalemia during thoracic drainage. Another dog became weak and depressed, ostensibly because of hyperkalemia. Serum sodium and potassium concentrations in 1 dog with spontaneous chylothorax returned to normal after chylothorax resolved and thoracic drainage was stopped. The other 3 dogs died or were euthanatized, and the effect of stopping thoracic drainage could not be evaluated. In 3 dogs in which it was measured, normal-to-high plasma cortisol concentration was observed before and after adrenocorticotropin administration, and 2 dogs also had hyperaldosteronemia. Hyponatremia was hypothesized to be caused by sodium loss via thoracic drainage whereas hyperkalemia may have been multifactorial in origin, but probably was attributable, at least, in part to decreased renal potassium clearance.
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Search related cases āOriginal publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1917642/